COVID-19 51 New Cases Yesterday...Increase in Patients Imported from Asia (Update)

On the 23rd, quarantine workers disinfected the pier around the Russian-flagged refrigerated cargo ship A (3,401 tons), which had 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases, at Gamcheon Port in Busan.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that 51 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were reported on the 24th. Among them, 31 patients are presumed to have been infected within the local community, while the remaining 20 cases were imported from overseas during quarantine stages.

In Seoul, all 11 new confirmed cases are community-acquired infections. In Busan, where a cluster infection occurred on a Russian vessel, 2 additional cases presumed to be imported were reported. In Daejeon, where cluster infections linked to door-to-door sales companies continue, all 8 new confirmed cases are community infections.

Additionally, there were 7 and 3 new cases in Gyeonggi and Incheon respectively, 2 each in Daegu and Ulsan, and 1 each in Gangwon, Chungnam, Jeonbuk, and Gyeongbuk. Twelve cases were identified during the quarantine stage. By metropolitan municipality, new cases were evenly confirmed in 11 out of 17 cities and provinces, excluding Gwangju, Sejong, Chungbuk, Jeonnam, Gyeongnam, and Jeju.

Most of the imported cases came from Asian regions other than China. Among the 20 imported cases, 16 accounted for 31% of the new cases reported the previous day. The Korean government has strengthened entry restrictions, including limiting the issuance of new visas to Bangladesh and Pakistan, as the number of arrivals and confirmed cases from countries with increasing new cases, such as South Asia, has risen recently.

This is the seventh time this month that new confirmed cases have exceeded 50. Keeping new cases below 50 is one of the criteria set by health authorities to maintain social distancing in daily life, known as the "everyday quarantine system." Twenty-two patients were released from isolation the previous day, and there were no deaths. Currently, 1,324 patients remain in isolation and are receiving treatment. A total of 12,585 diagnostic tests were conducted in one day, bringing the total number of tests to over 1.2 million.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.